Synchronization of stored service parameters in a communication system

ABSTRACT

Techniques for synchronization of stored service parameters are disclosed. In one aspect, a configuration identifier is transmitted from a mobile station to a base station, and compared with an identifier generated in the base station. If the identifiers match, the configuration is used for communication. In another aspect, the identifier is generated by selecting an identifier associated with a configuration from a configuration table. In yet another aspect, the identifier is generated by computing a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) of the configuration. Various other aspects are also presented. These aspects have the benefit of preventing attempted use of unsynchronized stored service parameters and associated call setup failures and subsequent renegotiation, with the net effect of reducing call setup time and more efficient use of system resources.

FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates generally to communications, andmore specifically to a novel and improved method and apparatus forsynchronization of stored service parameters in a communication system.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Wireless communication systems are widely employed to providevarious types of communication such as voice and data. These systems maybe based on code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multipleaccess (TDMA), or some other modulation techniques. A CDMA systemprovides certain advantages over other types of systems, includingincreased system capacity.

[0003] A CDMA system may be designed to support one or more CDMAstandards such as (1) the “TIA/EIA-95-B Mobile Station-Base StationCompatibility Standard for Dual-Mode Wideband Spread Spectrum CellularSystem” (the IS-95 standard), (2) the standard offered by a consortiumnamed “3rd Generation Partnership Project” (3GPP) and embodied in a setof documents including Document Nos. 3G TS 25.211, 3G TS 25.212, 3G TS25.213, and 3G TS 25.214 (the W-CDMA standard), (3) the standard offeredby a consortium named “3rd Generation Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2) andembodied in a set of documents including “C.S0002—A Physical LayerStandard for cdma2000 Spread Spectrum Systems,” the “C.S0005-A UpperLayer (Layer 3) Signaling Standard for cdma2000 Spread SpectrumSystems,” and the “C.S0024 cdma2000 High Rate Packet Data Air InterfaceSpecification” (the cdma2000 standard), and (4) some other standards.

[0004] Call setup is a procedure by which a mobile station and a basestation establish communication. During call setup, various parametersmay be negotiated, and other parameters may be directed by the basestation without negotiation. These parameters are known as the serviceconfiguration record (SCR) and non-negotiable service configurationrecord (NNSCR), respectively. There may be a large number of parametersincluded in these records, and the time spent in negotiation andtransfer of these parameters increases call setup time and uses systemresources. Collectively these parameters and descriptors may be referredto as a configuration. Also, a set or subset of these parameters and/ordescriptors may be referred to as a configuration. The exact makeup of aconfiguration may be specific to implementation, system, design and/oroperation.

[0005] Release A of the cdma2000 standard provides for a procedure tominimize the time spent in call setup when parameters have beenpreviously negotiated. A mobile station can store the mutually agreed toservice configuration when it releases all dedicated channels andreturns to the idle state. A mobile station may then attempt toreestablish a connection, whether initiating a new voice call orre-connecting a dormant data communication session. The mobile stationsends an indication to the base station that a configuration has beenstored and may still be useful for the new session. The mobile stationsends an identifier for identifying the stored configuration, known inthe cdma2000 standard as SYNC_ID. The SYNC_ID can be transmitted in anOrigination Message, for a mobile station originated call, or a PageResponse Message, for a mobile station terminated call. In response, thebase station may instruct the mobile station, via a Service ConnectMessage, after dedicated channels have been established, that the mobilestation should use the stored configuration. If so, the need forperforming service negotiation is eliminated and the call setup time isreduced.

[0006] For this procedure to succeed, the stored service configurationmust be identical at the mobile and base stations. In other words, thestored service configuration should be synchronized. If the mobilestation and the base station attempt to use unsynchronized storedservice configurations, the communication will fail, requiringadditional system access attempts and subsequent renegotiation ofparameters, thus actually increasing call setup time. There is thereforea need in the art for synchronization of stored service parameters.

SUMMARY

[0007] Embodiments disclosed herein address the need for synchronizationof stored service parameters. In one aspect, a configuration identifieris transmitted from a mobile station to a base station, and comparedwith an identifier generated in the base station. If the identifiersmatch, the configuration is used for communication. In another aspect,the identifier is generated by selecting an identifier associated with aconfiguration from a configuration table. In yet another aspect, theidentifier is generated by computing a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) ofthe configuration. Various other aspects are also presented. Theseaspects have the benefit of preventing attempted use of unsynchronizedstored service parameters and associated call setup failures andsubsequent renegotiation, with the net effect of reducing call setuptime and more efficient use of system resources.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008]FIG. 1 is a general block diagram of a wireless communicationsystem capable of supporting a number of users.

[0009]FIG. 2 is a portion of a base station or mobile station equippedfor synchronization of stored service parameters.

[0010]FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of stored serviceparameter synchronization using CRCs as exemplary identifiers.

[0011]FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a modification to the embodiment ofFIG. 3 for mitigating the effects of differing service parameter storagetechniques on identifier generation.

[0012]FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a modification to the embodiments ofFIG. 3 or FIG. 4 for eliminating the need for identifier generation in amobile station.

[0013]FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of stored serviceparameter synchronization using configuration tables.

[0014]FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a modification to the embodiment ofFIG. 6 for supporting configuration tables in mobile stations.

[0015]FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a method for storedservice parameter synchronization while roaming.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016]FIG. 1 is a diagram of a wireless communication system 100 thatmay be designed to support one or more CDMA standards and/or designs(e.g., the W-CDMA standard, the IS-95 standard, the cdma2000 standard,the HDR specification). For simplicity, system 100 is shown to includethree base stations 104 in communication with two mobile stations 106.The base station and its coverage area are often collectively referredto as a “cell”. In IS-95 systems, a cell may include one or moresectors. In the W-CDMA specification, each sector of a base station andthe sector's coverage area is referred to as a cell. As used herein, theterm base station can be used interchangeably with the terms accesspoint or NodeB. The term mobile station can be used interchangeably withthe terms User Equipment (UE), subscriber unit, subscriber station,Access Terminal (AT), remote terminal, or other corresponding termsknown in the art. The term mobile station is applicable to any of thesewireless applications.

[0017] Depending on the CDMA system being implemented, each mobilestation 106 may communicate with one (or possibly more) base stations104 on the forward link at any given moment, and may communicate withone or more base stations on the reverse link depending on whether ornot the mobile station 106 is in soft handoff. The forward link (i.e.,downlink) refers to transmission from the base station to the mobilestation, and the reverse link (i.e., uplink) refers to transmission fromthe mobile station to the base station.

[0018] For clarity, the examples used herein assume the base station isthe originator of signals, and the mobile station(s) are receiver(s) andacquirer(s) of those signals, i.e. signals on the forward link. Thoseskilled in the art will understand that mobile stations as well as basestations can be equipped to transmit data as described herein andtherefore, these examples are also applicable to the reverse link. Theword “exemplary” is used exclusively herein to mean “serving as anexample, instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment described herein as“exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred oradvantageous over other embodiments.

[0019]FIG. 2 depicts an embodiment of a communication device which canbe configured as a base station 104 or a mobile station 106. Variousembodiments, examples of which are detailed below, may call for only asubset of the components shown in FIG. 2 in either the base station 104or mobile station 106.

[0020] Signals are received at antenna 210 and delivered for conversionfrom radio frequency (RF) to baseband, amplification, filtering,demodulation, decoding, and the like in receiver 220, techniques forwhich are known in the art. Note that any air interface can besupported, and the format of transmission on the forward and reverselinks need not be identical. Message decoder 230 receives demodulateddata from receiver 220 and decodes messages incorporated in the data fordelivery to processor 260. Examples of messages received include, butare not limited to, Origination or Page Response Messages received at abase station, Paging Messages received at a mobile station 106,parameter negotiation messages received at either type of station,messages containing SYNC_ID, and the like.

[0021] Processor 260 may be a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), aspecialized processor for performing communication tasks, or any generalpurpose processor known in the art. Processor 260 is coupled with memory270, which can store instructions for performing the various steps andprocesses disclosed herein, and detailed further below.

[0022] Depending on the embodiment employed, processor 260 may deliverdata to CRC generator 240 for generating a CRC over information andparameters received in various messages from message decoder 230, orstored in memory 270 as configuration for use in communication. Someembodiments may include configuration table 250, which includesconfigurations, or sets of parameters, and a unique identifier for eachpossible configuration.

[0023] A base station 104 may store a configuration for each of aplurality of mobile stations 106 with which it is communicating. Theconfigurations can be stored in memory 270. In some embodiments, whenconfiguration table 250 is employed, the base station 104 may only needto store the configuration identifiers associated with the variousmobile stations 106. A mobile station 106 may only store oneconfiguration, the one most recently used. Alternate embodiments mayallow the mobile station 106 to store multiple configurations. In someembodiments, the base stations 104 may contain configuration tables 250,while the mobile stations 106 do not. Alternatively, a mobile station106 may also contain configuration table 250.

[0024] Message generator 280 generates messages under control ofprocessor 260 for delivery to transmitter 290. Some example messageshave been described above. Transmitter 290 performs encoding,modulation, amplification, filtering, up-conversion to RF, and the like,techniques for which are known in the art, and delivery to antenna 210for transmission.

[0025] Those of skill in the art will recognize that the variouscomponents shown in FIG. 2 are subsets of the components typicallyemployed in a mobile station 106 or base station 104. Furthermore, thefunctional divisions are shown for clarity of discussion, as the variouscomponents may be discrete special purpose hardware, or implemented infirmware or software and carried out as instructions in processor 260,or a combination thereof. Configuration table 250 may reside in memory270. Memory 270 may be a component of processor 260.

[0026]FIG. 3 depicts a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for storedconfiguration synchronization, suitable for use with base stations 104and mobile stations 106, described above with respect to FIG. 2. In step310, the base station 104 stores a configuration and transmits thatconfiguration to the mobile station 106. The storing and transmitting instep 310 may occur during a negotiation of the parameters in theconfiguration with the mobile station 106. In step 320, the base station104 computes and stores a CRC of the transmitted configuration. In step325, the mobile station 106, having received the transmittedconfiguration, stores it for use in current communication and forpotential future use. In step 330, the mobile station 106 calculates andstores a CRC of the configuration. The mobile station 106 then entersthe traffic state 340, and communication transpires. When a voice callis terminated, or a data session goes dormant, the idle state 350 isentered. At some point, after being paged by the base station 104 orwhen originating a new voice call or reactivating a data session, themobile station 106 enters the system access state 360, with the goal ofre-entering traffic state 340 and re-establishing communication. Steps370-395 indicate one embodiment of re-establishing synchronized storedservice parameters. While these steps are carried out, the mobilestation 106 may be in either the system access state, the traffic state,or in transition between the two. The details of state transition willbe specified by whichever standard is adhered to, and do not limit thescope of the present invention. In step 370, the mobile station 106sends the CRC as a SYNC_ID to the base station 104. In step 380, thebase station 104 compares the received SYNC_ID with the CRC stored inthe base station 104. If there is a match, in decision block 385,proceed to step 390 and use the stored configuration for thecommunication session, which begins when the mobile station 106transitions back to the traffic state 340.

[0027] If there is no match, in decision block 385, then the basestation 104 and mobile station 106 must renegotiate the configuration instep 395, before traffic state 350 is entered. There are a number ofreasons for a failed match. The base station 104 may have had to flushthe portion of its memory containing the configuration for theparticular mobile station 106. Or, the mobile station 106 may haveroamed and is communicating with new base station. Roaming issues maydiffer depending on the embodiment employed, and are discussed furtherbelow with respect to FIG. 8.

[0028] Note that the calculation of the CRC in the base and mobilestations 106 need not occur in the order shown. It is sufficient thatthe CRC is calculated in the mobile station 106 before it istransmitted, and in the base station 104 before it is compared. Storingthe CRC in either station can be omitted if the CRC is regenerated eachtime it is used. However, if a configuration is used repeatedly, as mayoccur with a data session that transitions between active and dormantstates frequently, it may be desirable to calculate the CRC once.

[0029] If the configuration information is stored differently in thebase station 104 and the mobile station 106, whether during orsubsequent to negotiation, then a CRC calculated on the twoconfigurations is likely to be different, even though the informationcontained is the same. This is because the output of a CRC generator,such as CRC generator 240, is dependent on the order in which itreceives data. FIG. 4 depicts a flowchart of a modification that can beintroduced to the process described in FIG. 3 to produce an embodimentthat provides for configuration synchronization without regard for howthe configuration is stored in the mobile and base station 104.

[0030] In step 410, the base station 104 transmits incremental or newconfiguration information. This may occur during initial serviceparameter negotiation. It may also occur after the mobile station 106has entered the dormant state following a communication session, i.e.,after entering state 350 of FIG. 3. In step 420, the base station 104calculates a CRC on the incremental or new configuration information, astransmitted, and updates the stored CRC with the new CRC calculation.There are myriad ways of combining CRCs, all of which fall within thescope of the present invention. One example is to exclusive OR the newCRC with the stored CRC. If there is no stored CRC, because the new orincremental information was the initial information, the new CRC can besimply stored.

[0031] In step 430, the mobile station 106 receives and stores theincremental or new configuration information. In step 440, the mobilestation 106 calculates the CRC of the new or incremental configurationinformation, as received, and combines that CRC with a stored CRC, ifone exists, and stores the result as the current stored CRC. Note that,in steps 420 and 440, the base station 104 or mobile station 106,respectively, performs the CRC on the transmitted information.Therefore, the method of storing the information in either the base ormobile station 106 does not affect the resultant CRC. The CRCcombination technique will produce the same result as the base station104 combining in step 420. Subsequently, the mobile station 106 canenter the traffic state 340 to begin communication with the base station104, and the process continues as described in FIG. 3 with respect tosteps 340 through 395.

[0032] It can be seen that by modifying the process of FIG. 3 with thesteps just described, differing methods for storing the serviceparameters in the base station 104 and mobile stations 106 will notinterfere with synchronization of the configurations. The procedure ofFIG. 4 can be used for the initial service configuration negotiation,with incremental CRC calculations and subsequent CRC combiningprocedures, as necessary. Then, subsequent or incremental changes madeto the service configuration can also be updated according to theprocedure, thus maintaining the configuration synchronization procedureindependently from the configuration storage procedure.

[0033] Note also that the CRC, as used throughout this description, isonly one example of a function for generating an identifier associatedwith a configuration. Other functions are known to create an identifierfor data based on the data's contents and can also be used within thescope of the present invention. Examples include hash functions, digitalsignatures, and the like.

[0034] In some embodiments, it may be desirable to minimize thecomputation required in the mobile station 106 to carry out parametersynchronization. The methods depicted in FIGS. 3 and 4 can be modifiedso that the mobile station 106 need not calculate the CRC (or otheridentifier-generating function). An exemplary embodiment of such amethod is depicted in FIG. 5. This method also mitigates the effects ofstorage techniques differing between base stations 104 and mobilestations 106. The base station 104 calculates the CRC in step 320 or410, depending on whether the process of FIG. 3 or FIG. 4 is beingmodified, respectively. In step 510, the base station 104 transmits theCRC to the mobile station 106. The mobile station 106 receives the CRCand stores it in step 520. Note that, with this modification, step 330of FIG. 3 and step 440 of FIG. 4, where the mobile station 106 computedthe CRC (or other identifier-generating function), are not needed.

[0035]FIG. 6 depicts a flowchart of an embodiment that eliminates theneed for the base station 104 and the mobile station 106 to calculate anidentifier, such as a CRC. In step 610, the base station 104 determinesthe configuration from an enumerated table. As described above, thenumber of stored service parameters may be quite large. The resultantnumber of possible configurations may be exceedingly large for practicalstorage in a table. However, many of the parameters are not independent,and therefore many settings are not possible with certain othersettings. In some embodiments, it may be reasonable to enumerate thesupported configurations in a configuration table, such as configurationtable 250 in FIG. 2.

[0036] Each configuration in the configuration table is associated withan identifier, which can be used as the SYNC_ID. The identifier may bean index, a CRC, a random number, or any other function of theconfiguration data. Simply using an index may not be desirable if it ispossible that neighboring systems may use different enumeration tables.In such a case, a mobile station 106 may respond with a SYNC_IDcontaining an index, and the associated configuration in theconfiguration table will not be synchronized with the storedconfiguration at the mobile station 106. A random number is more likelyto provide protection, if it is unlikely that neighboring base stationswill use the same random numbers for different configurations. A CRC, orother function of the configuration data, may be the most robust forcertain circumstances. In step 620, the base station 104 transmits theconfiguration to the mobile station 106. In step 630, the base station104 transmits the identifier associated with the configuration. Themobile station 106 receives and stores the identifier, or SYNC_ID, instep 640. The process can then proceed as described in FIG. 3.

[0037] The mobile station 106 receives and stores the configuration instep 325. No calculation is required by the mobile station 106, so step330 is not needed. The mobile station 106 can proceed to the trafficstate 340 and commence communication. When the mobile station 106attempts to use the stored service configuration for reestablishing acall (subsequent to states 350 and 360), the mobile station 106 willsend the SYNC_ID received in step 370. It may be a CRC, but it may alsobe one of the other examples given above. The base station 104 comparesthe SYNC_ID with the identifier stored for that mobile station 106 instep 380. Again, the identifier may be a CRC or any of the otheridentifiers given above. If there is a match, in decision block 385, themobile station 106 will use the stored configuration, and the basestation 104 will use the configuration associated with the identifier inthe configuration table. If there is not a match, the mobile station 106and base station 104 will need to renegotiate the configuration in step395.

[0038] Yet another simplification can be made if the configurationtable, such as configuration table 250, is stored in the mobile station106. The procedure just described with respect to FIG. 6 can be modifiedas shown in FIG. 7. As before, the base station 104 determines theconfiguration from a configuration table and determines the identifierwith which it is associated. The base station 104 sends the identifier,or SYNC_ID, in step 630. Step 620, the base station 104 sending theconfiguration is not necessary. Rather, the mobile station 106 retrievesfrom its configuration table the configuration associated with thereceived SYNC_ID, shown in step 710. The mobile station 106 willnaturally maintain a record of the SYNC_ID (step 640), not shown in FIG.7. The process then proceeds according to FIG. 3, as described abovewith respect to FIG. 6.

[0039] Note that the configuration table in the mobile station 106 neednot contain the entire list of records as the configuration table in thebase station 104. What is important is that the identifiers associatedwith configurations in the mobile station's configuration table matchthe corresponding identifiers and configurations in the base station'sconfiguration table. The base station 104 can send the configuration tothe mobile station 106 when one that is not supported in the mobilestation's configuration table is required (using the method describedabove in FIG. 6).

[0040] The procedure described in FIG. 7 has the benefits of requiringneither the base station 104 nor the mobile to compute an identifier fora configuration, and the configuration need not be transmitted over theair.

[0041] The various embodiments for synchronizing stored serviceparameters are designed with mobile station 106 roaming in mind. If amobile station 106 never roamed, communicating with only a single basestation 104, a SYNC_ID may be redundant, since the mobile station 106could simply identify whether or not the latest configuration was stillavailable. A single bit would suffice. The base station 104 could simplyagree to use the stored configuration if it still had the mobile'sconfiguration stored. In reality, mobile stations roam, which is why thevarious embodiments, described above, were outfitted with varioustechniques for ensuring that when the mobile station 106 attempts toreconnect to a base station 104, and use a stored configuration, theconfiguration is the same at both the mobile station 106 and the basestation 104. The system can make the stored configuration for variousmobile stations 106 available to neighboring base stations 104 bytransmitting them on the backhaul (the network interconnecting basestations, base station controllers, mobile switching centers (MSCs), andthe like). Or, as described above with respect to FIGS. 6 and 7, thebase stations 104 may contain configuration tables. The techniquesdescribed in FIGS. 6 and 7 work with roaming mobile stations 106 so longas the base stations 104 contain the same configuration tables. Theabove-described techniques also work well when neighboring basestations, while not equipped with identical configuration tables or thecurrent settings for roaming mobiles, will reject requests for usingstored configurations when not so equipped.

[0042] A network operator may choose to employ base stations 104 in itsnetwork, or in sub-parts of its network, which all adhere to a certainmethod for stored service parameter synchronization. Neighboringsystems, perhaps run by different network operators, may have roamingagreements which allow roaming, but may not adhere to a common storedservice parameter synchronization protocol. When a mobile roams from onesystem, using a certain protocol, to another system using anincompatible protocol, or the protocol is unknown, the mobile station106 may need to disable the SYNC_ID method it is using.

[0043]FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of a method a mobile station 106 mayemploy when it is roaming into a new system, or sub-part of a system. Indecision block 810, the mobile station 106 determines if the basestation 104 it is roaming to follows the SYNC_ID protocol used forstoring its current configuration. There are a variety of ways for amobile station 106 to determine this. Various networks contain systemidentifications (SIDs) and network identifications (NIDs). The mobilestation 106 may simply assume, when roaming to a new SID or NID, thatthe protocol is different. Or the mobile station 106 may know in advancea list of systems which adhere to one protocol or another. The variousprotocols may be differentiated on systems of different frequencies orgeographical regions. Clearly, when a mobile station 106 roams into asystem using a different air interface, the stored service parametersmay need to be updated with parameters suited to the alternate airinterface. As stated above, if the base station 104 uses a protocol,such as CRC checking, that will reject the offer to use the storedconfiguration when it is invalid, the mobile station 106 need not takeany action, but can attempt to reestablish a traffic channel using thestored identifier, such as SYNC_ID, as shown in step 820.

[0044] In decision block 810, if the base station 104 does not follow aprotocol that is the same or at least compatible with the mobilestation's currently stored SYNC_ID, or the base station's protocol isunknown, the mobile station 106 may proceed to step 830 and resetSYNC_ID to a null value. This will ensure that the service parameterswill be renegotiated. In an alternative embodiment, the messages betweenthe mobile station 106 and base station 104 may allow the mobile station106 to signify that the stored configuration is not valid, such as theOrigination Message or Page Response Message. Or, the base station 104may know that an entering mobile station 106 does not have a validstored configuration, and thus to ignore the SYNC_ID.

[0045] It should be noted that in all the embodiments described above,method steps can be interchanged without departing from the scope of theinvention.

[0046] Those of skill in the art will understand that information andsignals may be represented using any of a variety of differenttechnologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands,information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referencedthroughout the above description may be represented by voltages,currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, opticalfields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0047] Those of skill will further appreciate that the variousillustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm stepsdescribed in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may beimplemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinationsof both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware andsoftware, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits,and steps have been described above generally in terms of theirfunctionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware orsoftware depends upon the particular application and design constraintsimposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement thedescribed functionality in varying ways for each particular application,but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing adeparture from the scope of the present invention.

[0048] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuitsdescribed in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may beimplemented or performed with a general purpose processor, aDSP, anApplication Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field ProgrammableGate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate ortransistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combinationthereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A generalpurpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, theprocessor may be any conventional processor, controller,microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implementedas a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP anda microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or moremicroprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration.

[0049] The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection withthe embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware,in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of thetwo. A software module may reside in Random Access Memory (RAM), FLASHmemory, Read-Only Memory (ROM), Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM),Electrically Erasable Programmable Memory (EEPROM), registers, harddisk, a removable disk, a Compact Disc-ROM (CD-ROM), or any other formof storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium iscoupled to the processor such the processor can read information from,and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, thestorage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and thestorage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a userterminal. In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium mayreside as discrete components in a user terminal.

[0050] The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is providedto enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the presentinvention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readilyapparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles definedherein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from thespirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is notintended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to beaccorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novelfeatures disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mobile station, operable with one or more base stations, comprising: a memory for storing a service configuration; a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) generator for generating a CRC of the stored service configuration; and a message generator for generating a message including the CRC to identify the stored service configuration.
 2. The mobile station of claim 1, further comprising a message decoder for receiving a message from a base station indicating the stored service configuration should be used for communication.
 3. The mobile station of claim 2, wherein: the message decoder further receives a message containing a partial service configuration; the memory stores the partial service configuration; and the CRC generator generates a CRC of the partial service configuration and combines the CRC of the partial service configuration with a prior generated CRC to generate a CRC of the stored service configuration.
 4. A base station, operable with a plurality of mobile stations, comprising: a memory for storing a plurality of service configurations corresponding to the plurality of mobile stations; a CRC generator for generating a plurality of CRCs of the plurality of stored service configurations; a message decoder for receiving a message from a mobile station containing a CRC identifying the mobile station's stored service configuration; and a comparator for comparing the received CRC with the corresponding one of the plurality of CRCs and indicating whether a match exists.
 5. The base station of claim 4, further comprising a message generator for generating a message for transmission to the mobile station indicating that the stored service configuration should be used for communication when the compared CRCs indicate a match.
 6. The base station of claim 5, wherein: the message generator further generates a message containing a partial service configuration for transmission to the mobile; the memory stores the partial service configuration; and the CRC generator generates a CRC of the partial service configuration and combines the CRC of the partial service configuration with a prior generated CRC to generate the corresponding one of the plurality of CRCs of the plurality of stored service configurations.
 7. A communication system, including a base station, operable with a plurality of mobile stations, comprising: a memory for storing a plurality of service configurations corresponding to the plurality of mobile stations; a CRC generator for generating a plurality of CRCs of the plurality of stored service configurations; a message decoder for receiving a message from a mobile station containing a CRC identifying the mobile station's stored service configuration; and a comparator for comparing the received CRC with the corresponding one of the plurality of CRCs and indicating whether a match exists.
 8. A mobile station, operable with one or more base stations, comprising: a message decoder for receiving one or more messages containing a service configuration and a message containing an identifier associated with the service configuration; a memory for storing a service configuration; and a message generator for generating a message including the identifier to identify the stored service configuration.
 9. The mobile station of claim 8, further comprising a message decoder for receiving a message from a base station indicating the stored service configuration should be used for communication.
 10. A mobile station, operable with one or more base stations, comprising: a message decoder for receiving a message containing an identifier associated with a service configuration; a configuration table consisting of service configurations associated with identifiers for accessing a service configuration associated with the received identifier; and a message generator for generating a message including the identifier to identify the service configuration.
 11. A base station, operable with a plurality of mobile stations, comprising: a memory for storing a plurality of service configurations corresponding to the plurality of mobile stations; a configuration identifier generator for generating a plurality of identifiers for the plurality of stored service configurations; a message generator for generating for transmission to a mobile station a message containing an identifier associated with the service configuration; a message decoder for receiving a message from a mobile station containing an identifier identifying the mobile station's stored service configuration; and a comparator for comparing the received identifier with the corresponding one of the plurality of identifiers and indicating whether a match exists.
 12. The base station of claim 11, wherein the message generator further generates for transmission to the mobile station one or more messages containing a service configuration.
 13. The base station of claim 11, wherein the message generator further generates a message for transmission to the mobile station indicating that the stored service configuration should be used for communication when the compared identifiers indicate a match.
 14. The base station of claim 11, wherein each identifier is a CRC of the associated configuration.
 15. The base station of claim 11, wherein each identifier is a random number associated with a configuration.
 16. The base station of claim 11, wherein each identifier is an index.
 17. The base station of claim 11, wherein: the configuration identifier generator is a configuration table consisting of configurations and associated identifiers; and the associated identifiers are stored in the memory as the plurality of service configurations corresponding to the plurality of mobile stations.
 18. A communication system, including a base station, operable with a plurality of mobile stations, comprising: a memory for storing a plurality of service configurations corresponding to the plurality of mobile stations; a configuration identifier generator for generating a plurality of identifiers for the plurality of stored service configurations; a message generator for generating for transmission to a mobile station a message containing an identifier associated with the service configuration; a message decoder for receiving a message from a mobile station containing an identifier identifying the mobile station's stored service configuration; and a comparator for comparing the received identifier with the corresponding one of the plurality of identifiers and indicating whether a match exists.
 19. A method of synchronizing stored service parameters comprising: generating an identifier of a configuration in a base station; transmitting an identifier of a configuration from a mobile station to the base station; comparing the generated identifier with the transmitted identifier; and using the configuration for communication between the base station and mobile station when the compared identifiers match.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the transmitted identifier is generated in the mobile station.
 21. The method of claim 19, further comprising transmitting the identifier from the base station to the mobile station prior to transmitting the identifier from the mobile station to the base station.
 22. The method of claim 19, wherein the generating step comprises selecting an identifier associated with the configuration in a configuration table.
 23. The method of claim 19, wherein the identifier is a CRC.
 24. The method of claim 19, wherein the identifier is a random number.
 25. The method of claim 19, wherein the identifier is an index.
 26. A method of synchronizing stored service parameters comprising: transmitting a partial configuration from a base station to a mobile station; calculating a CRC of the partial configuration in the base station; combining the CRC of the partial configuration with a stored CRC in the base station to update the stored CRC in the base station; calculating the CRC of the partial configuration in the mobile station; combining the CRC of the partial configuration with a stored CRC in the mobile station to update the stored CRC in the mobile station; transmitting the stored CRC in the mobile station to the base station; comparing the transmitted stored CRC with the stored CRC in the base station; and using the configuration comprised of one or more partial configurations for communication between the base station and mobile station when the compared stored CRCs match.
 27. A method of synchronizing stored service parameters in a base station comprising: generating an identifier of a configuration; receiving an identifier of a configuration from a mobile station; comparing the generated identifier with the received identifier; and communicating with the mobile station using the configuration when the compared identifiers match.
 28. The method of claim 27, further comprising transmitting the configuration to the mobile station.
 29. The method of claim 27, further comprising transmitting the generated identifier to the mobile station.
 30. The method of claim 27, wherein the generating step comprises selecting an identifier associated with a configuration in a configuration table.
 31. A method of synchronizing stored service parameters in a mobile station comprising: storing a configuration; transmitting an identifier associated with the configuration to a base station; receiving a message from the base station indicating whether the stored configuration is valid; and communicating with the base station using the stored configuration when it is valid.
 32. The method of claim 31, further comprising receiving the configuration from the base station.
 33. The method of claim 31, further comprising receiving the transmitted identifier from the base station.
 34. Processor readable media operable to perform the following steps: generating an identifier of a configuration; receiving an identifier of a configuration from a mobile station; comparing the generated identifier with the received identifier; and communicating with the mobile station using the configuration when the compared identifiers match.
 35. Processor readable media operable to perform the following steps: storing a configuration; transmitting an identifier associated with the configuration to a base station; receiving a message from the base station indicating whether the stored configuration is valid; and communicating with the base station using the stored configuration when it is valid.
 36. A communication system comprising: means for generating an identifier of a configuration in a base station; means for transmitting an identifier of a configuration from a mobile station to the base station; means for comparing the generated identifier with the transmitted identifier; and means for using the configuration for communication between the base station and mobile station when the compared identifiers match.
 37. A base station comprising: means for generating an identifier of a configuration; means for receiving an identifier of a configuration from a mobile station; means for comparing the generated identifier with the received identifier; and means for communicating with the mobile station using the configuration when the compared identifiers match.
 38. A mobile station comprising: means for storing a configuration; means for transmitting an identifier associated with the configuration to a base station; means for receiving a message from the base station indicating whether the stored configuration is valid; and means for communicating with the base station using the stored configuration when it is valid. 